Trib HSSN May Madness: Aaron Donald, Penn Hills vs. Pat McAfee, Plum

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Thursday, May 7, 2020 | 9:00 AM


Over the course of the next month and a half, May Madness will determine who fans believe is the WPIAL Athlete of the Century.

HSSN has put together two 32-player brackets, one for the boys and one for the girls, of WPIAL alums. Outside of a few exceptions, the field is made up of former district players who excelled in more than one sport.

Each weekday, May Madness will have one matchup each on the boys and girls bracket with a little background info on each athlete found in a daily tale of the tape.

Starting at 9 a.m. Thursday and running through 9 a.m. Friday, you can vote on the HSSN twitter page on the two athletes featured in this first-round matchup.

Check the HSSN website at noon Friday for the matchup’s final results.

Here is the contest for the boys. Round 1, Day 5:

Aaron Donald vs. Pat McAfee is proof that football players come in all shapes and sizes in this battle of eastern Pittsburgh suburban neighboring schools.

Aaron Donald — Penn Hills Class of 2010

(Football)

• 2009 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25 football all-star team

• 2008 and 2009 first-team Class AAAA all-state

• Three-year starter at defensive tackle and offensive guard for Penn Hills

• Registered 63 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss and 11 sacks in his senior season

• Helped lead the Indians to the playoffs in all three years as a starter with a 4-3 postseason record, a trip to the semifinals and two trips to the AAAA quarterfinals

• Rated one of the top 25 defensive tackles in the country by Scout.com, Donald participated in the Big 33 Classic

• Donald played defensive tackle at Pitt and currently is an All-Pro defensive lineman in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams

Pat McAfee — Plum Class of 2005

(Football, soccer)

• 2004 first team all-conference kicker

• McAfee was 7 for 7 in field goals with his longest coming on a 48-yard boot. He showed off his strong leg consistently on kickoffs with 80% of them going into the end zone for Plum

• He was rated the No. 1 kicker in the nation in 2004 by Scout.com

• While in high school in 2003, McAfee won the annual Punt, Pass and Kick national competition

• Won a national kicking competition in Miami with a 65-yard field goal that led to his getting a college scholarship

• Was a WPIAL first-team boys soccer all-star his sophomore, junior and senior years at Plum

• McAfee played college football as a kicker at West Virginia before moving on to become a punter in the NFL for Indianapolis over eight years

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